Assessment of Physical Functioning: A Conceptual Model Encompassing Environmental Factors and Individual Compensation Strategies

Commonly studied physical functions include activities such as walking and climbing stairs. Despite the acknowledged role of environmental factors and behavioral strategies to compensate for reduced performance capacity or environmental barriers in characterizing physical functioning, most assessments do not take these factors into account. This article presents a new conceptual model for assessment of relevant physical functioning while accounting for habitual environmental factors and compensation strategies.